Two sofas were dumped on Pulau Ubin just opposite nearby fish farms.
As well as lots of other trash that probably came from nearby fish farms.
A little distance away, was a matching sofa.
Slowly being buried in the incoming trash, foam in the shape of what seems to be some other kind of furniture.
Also a chair, and elsewhere. a stool.
The fish farms are not very far from the shore. It is not convenient to reach this shore from the landward side. I took these photos of the fish farms off this shore in
Aug 2013. With Pasir Ris Park beach and Pasir Ris housing estate on the horizon. Pasir Ris beach also has a
big build up of litter.
Most are on platforms on floating blue drums. Many seem to contain a wide variety of equipment, containers, tarpulins, nets.
On the shore were many large plastic containers that are commonly used in fish farms.
Large containers that used to contain industrial fluids and chemicals.
There were containers that used to contain toxic chemicals.
A fire extinguisher on top of a very large tarp.
Large swathes of green netting commonly used in fish farms smother large parts of the shore.
A large net that is used to form fish farm cages 'washed up' on the high shore.
Tarps are also seen, not just on the shore but also on the bushes.
Fish farming involves feeding lots of fishes all the time. With things that come in large bags. A lot of ice is also involved in transporting fishes to market. I saw many large clear plastic bags.
Many large sacks that used to contain rice, sugar.
Also many large bags that used to contain ice.
There was a bag of trash.
The bag had green netting, PVC pipes, small styrofoam bits. Appears to be the result of some sort of repair to aquaculture piping or filters.
Here is a pile of green netting (the kind used in fish farms), canvas, large plastic bags, clothing, toilet bowl cleaner (there is no sewerage disposal for any of the 60 fish farms off Pulau Ubin).
Good for your skin but not for the shore. A large container of soap. Certainly not something that a beachgoer would lug out.
There was an entire boat rotting away among the undergrowth just past the high water mark.
Much of the large litter look like they were dumped there and didn't just 'accidentally' float from 'somewhere'. I cannot imagine how this plank floated onto the shore to take up this position.
The more remote part of the shore was thick with tyres.
Another look at the incredible number of tyres on this shore.
Did the tyres float here? Some of the tyres are huge. Others still had metal parts.
There was also this large metal thing that looks like an anchor. As well as other large chunks of metal. Those certainly didn't float to the shore. Is this shore used to illegally dump large trash?
We saw two life vests. They did not have any traceable markers.
Of course, there are also other sources of trash. Food trash above the high water mark were probably left by beachgoers.
There were also large nets that look like this.
Also several crab traps.
When I last visited this shore in
Aug 2013, I saw a refrigerator, several TV sets and an entire abandoned fish farm platform. These were no longer there. But the shore is still badly trashed.
Erosion also seems to be severe on this shore.
In the nearby shelter, we saw puppies huddled together. I heard that there are suspicions that the fish farms dump unwanted puppies and dogs on Pulau Ubin as well.
Here's an overview of the floating fish farms near Pulau Ubin and
Pasir Ris Park.
The shore I checked out on 23 Sep (Tue) is the blue line.
Trash on our recreational beaches costs taxpayers
$1.4m a year to clean up! Surely, it makes more sense to stop the trash from entering our waters in the first place? Once again, I would like to highlight that the authorities should work together to provide all fish farmers a practical and reasonable way to accommodate their trash needs. Today, every business and household on the mainland and every ship parked in port is provided with daily door-to-door trash collection. But all coastal fish farms licenced by AVA are NOT provided with a similar service.
Fish farm trash on our shores
